YouTube CEO Announces New Mobile, VR Features

YouTube CEO Susan Wojcicki said new mobile capabilities include a feature that automatically reformats videos shot vertically or in square to render normally on a viewer’s smartphone. (Kimberly White / Getty Images)

YouTube CEO Susan Wojcicki announced new features to the company’s mobile and desktop platforms Thursday at the eighth annual VidCon conference in Anaheim.

Wojcicki introduced two new mobile capabilities, including a feature that automatically reformats videos shot vertically or in square to render normally on a viewer’s smartphone. Users with at least 100 subscribers will also have the ability to live-stream to the site.

YouTube users now spend more than an hour a day on average watching videos on mobile devices, Wojcicki said, no doubt prompting the company to increase its mobile capability.

She said the platform has also seen a fourfold increase in live-streaming over the last year.

“We think there’s lots of room to get people to watch even more YouTube,” said Wojcicki.

YouTube now has 1.5 billion logged-in users visiting the site every month, she said.

Wojcicki also introduced VR 180, a virtual reality format that allows users to film just what’s in front of them. The new format is aimed at making it easier and cheaper for YouTube creators to shoot VR video.

The Google-owned company also touted the growth of YouTube TV, the new streaming partnership with popular cable networks. It will now be available in 10 markets, up from five, including Atlanta, Miami and Dallas.